Nate not so great

Left cornerback has gotten plenty of attention during traning camp because no starter has yet been declared. But the 49ers might be just as concerned about the right side.

Nate Clements

has experienced a srange camp. Yes, he made an interception in the end zone against the Broncos and a few weeks ago during that stupendous practice in Napa, he plucked the Raiders quarterbacks naked. But opposing quarterbacks have feasted on Clemtents throughout the exhibtion season.

Nate Clements needs to pick it up.

In Dallas, he gave up completions of 12, 19, 34 and 18 yards. The 12-yarder was the most telling. Facing a third down, Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo went with three intermediate routes across the face of the 49ers’ secondary. He scanned left, Dre Bly had his man covered, to the middle where Dashon Goldson was all over the tight end, then he went to his right where he zipped a pass to an open receiver with Clements laying way off.

Against the Raiders, Clements was scrotched on a double move by rookie Louis Murphy and nearly tackled him when the ball was in the air. Then he made the most blatant error of the preseason. Faced with a 3rd-and-22, Clements abandoned Murphy in the corner of the end zone to cover the running back in the flat. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell zipped a ridiculously easy 24-yard touchdown pass to Murphy in the corner of the end zone.

Coach Mike Singletary was asked about Clements

on Sunday and said he was unconcerned. He said Clements was just going through preseason unevenly like a lot of veterans do and he said Clements knows what he has to do.

But what if Clements can’t do it. Does he lay off receivers so much because he knows he no longer has the speed to cover them? Clements has played a lot of football, missing only one game in eight seasons and he wasn’t particularly fast to start with.

Singletary may well be right, but it’s something to watch.

NOTES: Linebacker Ahmad Brooks had fragment of bone removed from his knee and is expected to miss two to three weeks.

RESPONSES: The 49ers are one short of the 75-man limit, which Grumpy noted. Astute observation from Nofear about the 49ers run formations. No one seems to run the old red right (split backs) but Jimmy Raye is a huge fan of the shaping of the fullback away from the tight end (brown formation) or toward the TE (blue). In terms of his terminology, he’s not a West Coast guy, more from the Norv Turner school. Given that, you might see a lot more motion in the regular season.